School Counseling, M.A.

The School Counseling program is committed to educating counselors who will provide leadership in serving the developmental needs of children in a school community. The purpose of a counselor’s intervention is seen as facilitating growth towards the student’s full academic and psychosocial potential. The program focuses on assisting future counselors with the wide range of issues that confront students, teachers and parents across the full span of the school years (K-12). Therefore, school counselors who graduate from the University of Saint Joseph are prepared to work with elementary, middle and high school students and to assist them with the challenges that they face as they grow and develop.

Learning outcomes

Counseling skills: This domain focuses on the skills necessary for engaging in the helping process. Students will demonstrate culturally appropriate skills and techniques necessary for successful pre-session, in-session and post-session counseling behaviors.

Conceptualization of student or programmatic need(s): This domain focuses on the skills needed to formulate a clear understanding of a student’s or school community’s need within a broader social context and the ability to construct an intervention plan that reflects respect for the individual and the larger group

Counseling process: This domain focuses on the ability to recognize any aspect of counselor-client interaction, total or in part, that can be understood to directly or indirectly affect the counselor, the client, the direction of sessions and movement toward the resulting outcome of counseling

Professional role skills: This domain focuses on an awareness of the aspects of the candidate’s character that serves to enhance working as a school counselor, as well as those aspects that serve as obstacles to success in the school counselor role

Degree requirements

The School Counseling curriculum is designed to facilitate self-understanding and development through individual and small group activities across a variety of educational domains that pertain to counseling practice. In addition to a common core of curricular experiences, all students in the School Counseling program are expected to demonstrate their knowledge and skills in foundations of school counseling, ability to conceptualize a comprehensive counseling program and the practice of school counseling including program development, implementation, evaluation and consultation.

Matriculation

A student seeking to matriculate into the School Counseling program is required to submit the following to the Office of Graduate and Professional Studies:

Official college transcript(s). These must be from accredited institutions and must evidence at least a baccalaureate degree with a GPA of 2.67 or higher. Transcripts are required prior to registration.

Two letters of professional reference mailed directly to the Office of Graduate and Professional Studies recommending the candidate for graduate work in the School Counseling Program at the University of Saint Joseph. Recommendation forms are available in the Graduate and Professional Studies office.

Submit a personal entrance essay (essay guidelines available through the Graduate and Professional Studies office and the Department of Counseling and Applied Behavioral Studies)

Sign up for a group interview/information session once the application and an official transcript are received

Note: During the interview, a planned Program of Study will be prepared based on the number of credits the student wishes to carry each semester. This program will then be sent via email to you with instructions for registration and final matriculation.

When all the required documentation is received by the Graduate and Professional Studies office, the file will be submitted to Counseling and Applied Behavioral Studies for matriculation.

Practicum/internship or upper-division elective

Clinical hours

All students must complete a 100-hour practicum and a 600-hour internship. A student who has not completed the required 700 clinical hours by the end of Internship II may continue group supervision by enrolling in an additional internship course.

Note: If a student does not hold a Connecticut teaching certificate and has at minimum 30 months of classroom teaching experience, he/she must complete a 10-month full-time residency in place of the internship.

Comprehensive exam

The comprehensive exam requires the student to demonstrate the ability to integrate the content and application of the chosen field of study. With the completion of a minimum of 39 credits in the core course curriculum (including Practicum), the student may sit for this exam.